Aurorastar rolled around in her nest, feeling uncomfortable. Her pelt prickled, and though it was cold outside in the pitch-black, leaf-bare night, she felt strangely hot. Her skin burned, and her pads were sticky with sweat.
She flinched when she felt a hard thump in her belly. She gazed down, a loving feeling washing over her. Stay strong, my kits.
She rested her chin on her paws, her tail flicking. She could feel a layer of mucus at the top of her throat, but no longer made a commitment to get rid of it. She was tired of exhausting herself with the tireless rounds of coughing. Her ears began to feel damp with sweat, and she opened her mouth to take a deep breath of the cold air.
"Aurorastar?" a voice croaked in the back of the den. Searose's small, blue-gray face came into view. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Aurorastar hissed, feeling another wave of discomfort roll over her body.
"Don't talk to that traitor!" Waterfall snapped at Searose. "She tried to kill my daughter!"
Searose rolled her eyes. "If Nightglow told you that Aurorastar tried to wipe out StarClan, would you believe it?"
Waterfall snorted, but curled back into her nest and rested her tail over her nose.
Rainpaw was staying in a nest in the herb storage area, this way she could stay as far away from the sick cats as possible.
Aurorastar heard Searose pad away, her paw steps barely a whisper on the smooth stone. She returned moments later, and Aurorastar detected another set of paws behind Searose. Aurorastar sighed when she felt Starwhisper's gentle paws run down her pelt. The medicine cat sniffed the leader's ears before placing a paw on her forehead.
"Just as I thought," Starwhisper murmured. "Aurorastar, you have a fever."
The SunClan leader tilted her head to one side. "Didn't I already have a fever."
"A small one, yes," Starwhisper confirmed with a nod. "But it has risen greatly. Enough to really effect your body."
Aurorastar gazed at her plump belly, eyes wide with concern. Will it be threatening to my kits? she wanted to say, but her throat now felt too sore to say anything.
"Aurorastar," Starwhisper started, shooing Searose away, "I need to talk to you about something."
Anxiety began to claw at her belly like a wad of thorns. "What?" she managed to rasp out.
Starwhisper sighed, lying down and curling her tail around Aurorastar's shoulders. "This is something I have been meaning to tell you for a while, I just didn't know how to say it."
Panic began to make Aurorastar's head churn with thoughts.
Starwhisper looked into Aurorastar's eyes, piercing green orbs shining brightly. "Aurorastar, this sickness you have will effect you and your kits greatly. I don't know how your milk supply is going to be when the kits are born, but it may dry up very quickly. You will be very weak, and you may have to stay in my den for a while after they are born."
Aurorastar pushed her feelings of grief away. "And what about the kits?" she croaked.
Starwhisper looked at hers paws. "Your kits may be born very weak and small. They may have some birth defects that I cannot help. Some may even be born dead, or die within a few moons after their birth. Aurorastar, if the worst truly comes to you, you may not *have* any kits by the time you are completely recovered."
Shock gripped Aurorastar, so hard she thought she may fall unconscious. Memories burned in her mind. The joy of her realizing she was expecting, the terror when she realized she had greencough, the first kick she ever felt from her kits, her struggles of pain that took over her, her Clan turning against her, Bluefire attacking her.
Aurorastar gazed at her paws, her eyes losing their shine and instead glazed beyond repair.
StarClan, why are you doing this to me? What is going to happen to my Clan? To my kits?
Starwhisper licked Aurorastar's ear. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Aurorastar suddenly felt cold when Starwhisper left, leaving her nest as empty as Aurorastar felt.
Aurorastar awoke, feeling the sun's rays on her pelt. Her eyes felt crusty and sealed shut, but she was able to peel them open and rub the crust away.
"Good morning," Starwhisper murmured, purposely not looking at Aurorastar.
The leader tried to ignore the feelings of dread that still churned within her from last night's conversation. "How was the Gathering last night?"
Starwhisper dropped a leaf at Aurorastar's paws. It contained a poultice of many herbs, but Aurorastar now recognized the strong scent of tansy in it.
The medicine cat looked rather awkward. "You should ask your sister about it. She wanted to talk to you."
Aurorastar tried to heave herself to her paws, but failed. Her vision grew blurry as the blood rushed through her body. She let out a heavy breath.
Starwhisper rested her tail on Aurorastar's flank. "I can go get Eclipsewing for you."
Aurorastar merely blinked her thanks before resting her chin in between her paws.
She heard Starwhisper soon bound back inside, Eclipsewing's warm scent with her. She let out a purr when she felt her sister's body press up against her own.
"Careful," Starwhisper cautioned. "Her fever has grown very high."
"Dangerously high?" Eclipsewing asked. Aurorastar felt a prick of worry when Starwhisper didn't answer.
"How was the Gathering?" Aurorastar rasped, wincing as she broke into a coughing fit.
Eclipsewing's golden eyes widened with worry, but she began to speak. "It was... different. StormClan has two new warriors, and the other Clans are all fine with nothing to report. However, ShadowClan reported badger scents at our border."
Aurorastar stiffened, remembering the previous dreams she had had about badgers. StarClan, are you trying to warn me?
"How was Nightglow?" was all Aurorastar spoke, however.
Eclipsewing flattened her ears. "She was definitely taking advantage of her place as leader."
Aurorastar cleared her throat with a soft growl. "What happened?"
"The Clans were obviously curious on why you weren't there," Eclipsewing started, her gaze clouded as if she was thinking deeply. There was a moment of silence before Aurorastar mewed, "What?"
Eclipsewing shook her head. "Nothing. Your disappearance was questioned, and if Rainfall hadn't said anything, Nightglow would have told the Clans why you weren't there." The she-cat dug her claws into the moss. "Nightglow made it sound as if you were some kind of criminal."
Aurorastar was taken aback by Rainfall's strong loyalty, but even more surprised that Nightglow would so willingly spread SunClan's private news. "Then what happened?" she asked.
"Nothing, really," Eclipsewing meowed simply. "The Gathering finished, though Nightglow is definitely furious with Rainfall." She shivered. "Who knows what she will try to do to him."
Aurorastar gave a quick nod, sputtering on a cough. "I will make sure cats keep an eye on him and Nightglow." She noticed her sister was staring at her paws blankly. "Is something bothering you?"
Eclipsewing sighed. "Yes, but I don't know what to think of it. At the Gathering, I was overhearing these ShadowClan cats-" she was interrupted when Birchleaf bursted into view.
"Have you seen Starwhisper?!"
"I think she went to go get some fresh kill," Eclipsewing replied, startled. "Why?"
"I need to get her immediately. Rainpaw has woken up!" she called before darting out of the den.
A/N: Hello Everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D Sorry it's kind of short and that I took so long to update. I was on a camping trip that took up much of my time. I hope to update sooner next time. ^.^
Question: Aurorastar's Storm will be wrapping up soon, so I would like to hear your feedback on the story :) Who are your favorite characters? Are there any characters you want to see more of? Please let me know in a review! ^.^
IMPORTANT: Since Aurorastar's Storm is wrapping up soon, I'm going to be starting a new story (however, I will try not to slack on Aurorastar's Storm's updates). This new story is called The Blazing Sky, and I'm going to be putting up the first chapter today. It needs OC's however, so please leave one in a review :) Please keep an eye out for it, and thanks!
~Lunar